Protein: How Much You Actually Need, and How to Get It

Protein is the one macronutrient most Indian diets run short on. Meals built around rice, roti and a small quantity of dal are high in carbohydrate and low in protein, and the shortfall shows up as poor muscle mass, slow recovery from illness, and frailty in older adults.

How much is actually needed

The commonly quoted minimum is 0.8 g per kilogram of body weight per day. That figure is the amount needed to avoid deficiency in a healthy sedentary adult, not an optimal target.

Practical ranges:

• Sedentary adult: 0.8-1.0 g/kg
• Physically active: 1.2-1.6 g/kg
• Resistance training or trying to preserve muscle while losing weight: 1.6-2.0 g/kg
• Adults over 65: 1.0-1.2 g/kg, because older muscle responds less efficiently to protein
• Pregnancy and lactation: higher, following obstetric advice
• Recovery from illness, surgery or injury: higher
• Chronic kidney disease: often lower, and this must be individualised by a doctor — do not increase protein intake if you have kidney disease without advice

For a 70 kg adult, that means roughly 56 g at minimum and 85-110 g if active. Many Indian diets deliver 40-50 g.

Where it goes wrong in a typical diet

A meal of two rotis, a bowl of rice, a small katori of dal and a vegetable provides perhaps 12-15 g of protein. Three such meals leave a sizeable gap. The dal quantity is usually the limiting factor: dal is often treated as a flavouring rather than a protein source.

Protein content of common Indian foods

Approximate protein per 100 g, cooked unless stated:

• Paneer: 18 g
• Soya chunks (dry): 52 g
• Rajma, chana, lobia (cooked): 8-9 g
• Dal (cooked): 6-9 g
• Curd: 3-4 g; Greek-style curd: 8-10 g
• Milk: 3.2 g per 100 ml
• Egg: 6 g each
• Chicken breast: 31 g
• Fish: 20-25 g
• Peanuts: 26 g
• Almonds: 21 g
• Sesame and pumpkin seeds: 18-30 g
• Roti (one): 3 g
• Rice (cooked): 2.5 g

Complete and incomplete proteins

Animal proteins contain all nine essential amino acids in useful proportions. Most plant proteins are low in one or more — cereals in lysine, pulses in methionine.

The practical solution is one that Indian cooking already uses: combining cereals with pulses. Dal-chawal, rajma-chawal, khichdi, idli and dosa (rice with urad dal), roti with dal — these combinations complement each other. They do not need to be eaten in the same meal; spread across the day is sufficient.

Building more protein into ordinary meals

• Increase the dal quantity rather than treating it as a side
• Add soya chunks to pulao, curry and keema-style dishes
• Use Greek-style or hung curd instead of thin curd
• Add paneer or tofu to vegetables
• Keep roasted chana or peanuts as a snack instead of biscuits
• Add sattu to drinks or paratha
• Use besan for chilla instead of only refined flour
• Include eggs or fish if your diet allows
• Spread protein across all three meals rather than loading it into dinner; the body uses it more efficiently that way

Supplements

Whey and plant protein powders are convenient but not necessary for most people, and they are food, not medicine. They are useful when requirements are high — serious training, recovery, poor appetite in older adults — and when food alone is not practical. Check that a product actually lists its protein content per serving and is from a reputable manufacturer; adulteration is a real problem in this market.

Myths worth dropping

• “High protein damages the kidneys.” In people with normal kidney function, higher protein intake has not been shown to cause kidney disease. In people who already have kidney disease, protein does need to be managed — that is a different statement.
• “You can only absorb 30 g at a time.” The body absorbs more than that; the 30 g figure relates to the ceiling of muscle protein synthesis from a single meal, not to absorption.
• “Vegetarians cannot get enough protein.” They can, but it requires deliberate planning rather than assuming dal covers it.

When to seek advice

• Unintentional weight loss or visible muscle loss
• Slow recovery from illness or wounds
• Known kidney or liver disease, before changing protein intake
• Pregnancy, or feeding a young child
• Before starting high-dose supplements alongside existing medical conditions

This article is general health information. If you have kidney disease, liver disease or are pregnant, protein intake should be planned with a doctor or dietitian.